2012 Elections - Fear is the mind killer. Fear is the little death....

[FadeToBlack&Gold]

Re: 2012 Elections - Fear is the mind killer. Fear is the little death....

Out of 1,000 ideas (solutions), 990 may be crazy, but the remaining 10 are spot on and would eclipse the 990.

So that makes him acceptable?

But seriously, Newt is a classic politician - "Any way the wind blows...". Jesus, even Obama is more consistent.

 

[bronconick]

Re: 2012 Elections - Fear is the mind killer. Fear is the little death....

Are you talking about Newt or RONPAUL?

Newt has ideas when he's not in any position of authority. As Speaker, he was your run of the mill politician, if not a bit below average by managing to get sanctioned by his own party.

 

[geezer]

Re: 2012 Elections - Fear is the mind killer. Fear is the little death....

Say what you want about Newt, at least he has ideas on how to fix things. Out of 1,000 ideas (solutions), 990 may be crazy, but the remaining 10 are spot on and would eclipse the 990.

Can he ever get elected nationally? Sadly, no. Instead we get actors and actresses starring in "Platitudes, Platitudes" or playing the game of "Kick the Can".

to be honest, I never paid attention to the substance of Newt's ideas because his megalomania personality scares me enough. I suspect a lot of people make such knee jerk emotional judgments about politicians.

 

[dxmnkd316]

Re: 2012 Elections - Fear is the mind killer. Fear is the little death....

Subscribed because I'm not sure how I missed this topic.

 

[Kepler]

Re: 2012 Elections - Fear is the mind killer. Fear is the little death....

Say what you want about Newt, at least he has ideas on how to fix things. Out of 1,000 ideas (solutions), 990 may be crazy, but the remaining 10 are spot on and would eclipse the 990.

Couldn't disagree more. Newt's "brainstorming" is just a way to keep that bloatard in the news. He doesn't offer ideas as sincere attempts to address issues; he squeezes out little head farts to keep his book sales high.

He's the exact opposite of an inventive mind. He's self-promotional junk food.

 

[Rover]

Re: 2012 Elections - Fear is the mind killer. Fear is the little death....

the idea that he was suffering from dementia while still in office came from one story from one reporter who claimed Reagan didn't recognize her therefore he was out of it. none of his doctors or staff agree.

Incorrect actually. Reagan's own family (Jr in this case) said they first saw the signs during his debate performance in 1984, where the normally sharp witted Prez was fumbling with his notes and having trouble with his lines. Reagan himself said that 1986 was the time when he noticed having trouble remembering things. In 1987 before the Iceland summit, Reagan was visited by President Nixon in the WH, who was so concerned that he notified Reagan's cabinet that he didn't think the summit should go forward because the President wasn't nearly as mentally sharp as he appeared on TV. Lastly, from Queen Noor, King Hussein of Jordan's wife, there was the feeling that when he'd call towards the end of his term he'd basically be reading off of script as opposed to engaging in a back and forth conversation.

Again, none of this is the man's fault, but lets have an honest assessment of the guy for once.

 

[Kepler]

Re: 2012 Elections - Fear is the mind killer. Fear is the little death....

Freep jumped the shark years ago, but they may finally have broken through the Insanity Barrier that surrounds the galaxy. The interaction at the link is hard to read, especially if you're not used to the, um, nuances of contemporary conservative thought, but it's very entertaining to see people 8 sigma from the mean and people 9 sigma from the mean destroying each other.

 

[Rover]

Re: 2012 Elections - Fear is the mind killer. Fear is the little death....

the obvious problems with the Republican party are sweepingly applied to "the right", thereby scorning half of America.
Let's not pretend today's office-holding Republicans represent conservatism ("the right").

I'm sorry but they do. That's who "the right" is electing to represent them. Therefore, Gingrich-DeLay-McConnell-The Boner-DeMint-Ryan, etc = modern day conservatism. How else are we to judge the ideology if not by its repesentatives and the issues and laws they seek to pass? I'm curious who represents the sort of conservatism you speak of, be it an elected representative or even a talking head?

 

[Kepler]

Re: 2012 Elections - Fear is the mind killer. Fear is the little death....

I'm sorry but they do. That's who "the right" is electing to represent them. Therefore, Gingrich-DeLay-McConnell-The Boner-DeMint-Ryan, etc = modern day conservatism. How else are we to judge the ideology if not by its repesentatives and the issues and laws they seek to pass? I'm curious who represents the sort of conservatism you speak of, be it an elected representative or even a talking head?

I took geezer's comments as indicating the gap between guys in Congress who call themselves "conservative" and actual human beings who are conservatives. There is certainly a similar chasm between Dems and real liberals.

 

[Priceless]

Re: 2012 Elections - Fear is the mind killer. Fear is the little death....

I took geezer's comments as indicating the gap between guys in Congress who call themselves "conservative" and actual human beings

Fixed.

Freep jumped the shark years ago, but they may finally have broken through the Insanity Barrier that surrounds the galaxy. The interaction at the link is hard to read, especially if you're not used to the, um, nuances of contemporary conservative thought, but it's very entertaining to see people 8 sigma from the mean and people 9 sigma from the mean destroying each other.

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/NP6DXoNKITc" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[geezer]

Re: 2012 Elections - Fear is the mind killer. Fear is the little death....

I'm sorry but they do. That's who "the right" is electing to represent them. Therefore, Gingrich-DeLay-McConnell-The Boner-DeMint-Ryan, etc = modern day conservatism. How else are we to judge the ideology if not by its repesentatives and the issues and laws they seek to pass? I'm curious who represents the sort of conservatism you speak of, be it an elected representative or even a talking head?

Nobody I know of does, which is why I'm leaning toward voting Obama. My last hurdle is that I can't quite get over the "bitterly clinging to guns and religion" attitude. Any advice? Did he misspeak? Was it misreported? Should I just ignore it and pretend he has some respect for us? thx.

 

[Kepler]

Re: 2012 Elections - Fear is the mind killer. Fear is the little death....

Nobody I know of does, which is why I'm leaning toward voting Obama. My last hurdle is that I can't quite get over the "bitterly clinging to guns and religion" attitude. Any advice? Did he misspeak? Was it misreported? Should I just ignore it and pretend he has some respect for us? thx.

My advice is if that line offends you, don't vote for him. As much as The Echo Chamber tried to paint that as an attack on all religion, it was obviously a very specific statement about one very specific group of folks (let's call them "pro-death pro-lifers") in pursuit of money from another very specific group of folks (let's call them "pro-life pro-deathers"). Neither group is what I'd call pleasant, and I don't think either of us has a dog in that fight.

 

[geezer]

Re: 2012 Elections - Fear is the mind killer. Fear is the little death....

My advice is if that line offends you, don't vote for him. As much as The Echo Chamber tried to paint that as an attack on all religion, it was obviously a very specific statement about one very specific group of folks (let's call them "pro-death pro-lifers") in pursuit of money from another very specific group of folks (let's call them "pro-life pro-deathers"). Neither group is what I'd call pleasant, and I don't think either of us has a dog in that fight.

I've never heard the context! I thought he was talking about all the knuckleheaded conservatives in the flyover states who still value old-fashioned things like personal freedom, which makes them silly.

 

[ScoobyDoo]

Re: 2012 Elections - Fear is the mind killer. Fear is the little death....

I've never heard the context! I thought he was talking about all the knuckleheaded conservatives in the flyover states who still value old-fashioned things like personal freedom, which makes them silly.

They don't value personal freedom. If they did they wouldn't be so concerned about the third "G".

 

[Kepler]

Re: 2012 Elections - Fear is the mind killer. Fear is the little death....

I've never heard the context! I thought he was talking about all the knuckleheaded conservatives in the flyover states who still value old-fashioned things like personal freedom, which makes them silly.

He was talking about radical shut-in survivalist fundies, and he was talking to radical effete PoMo transhumanists. In other words, two cartoon groups. If you want to identify with one, that's your business; I think they each only exist as a foil to extort contributions from easily outraged partisans with more money than sense.

 

[geezer]

Re: 2012 Elections - Fear is the mind killer. Fear is the little death....

They don't value personal freedom. If they did they wouldn't be so concerned about the third "G".

see the preceding conversation, "the problems with Republican politicians."

 

[Rover]

Re: 2012 Elections - Fear is the mind killer. Fear is the little death....

Nobody I know of does, which is why I'm leaning toward voting Obama. My last hurdle is that I can't quite get over the "bitterly clinging to guns and religion" attitude. Any advice? Did he misspeak? Was it misreported? Should I just ignore it and pretend he has some respect for us? thx.

This is going to be long-winded, but hey you asked!

While I can't speak for O, what I can give is my take on it. I think since the late 70's Republican campaign operatives realized its a lot easier and sometimes more guaranteed to get people to vote based on issues that politicians can't control. How does this work? Say you come from a run down region (as I did). Normally as a voter you would hold your politicians accountable for putting policies in place that improve things. These can be either liberal policies (increased education spending, job training, etc), or conservative ones (business tax cuts, etc), but one would think you wouldn't stand for the same old decay decade after decade. BUT, lets say your paradigm (word of the day!) changed suddenly do to some slick campaigning. Now, instead of expecting your leaders on a federal level to do things to improve your state or region such as crime, jobs, and poverty, you thought of yourself as part of a much bigger cause. Keeping God in public life! Upholding your Second Amendment Rights! Banning All Abortion! Fighting the Commies! God, Guns & Gays (a Pat Buchanan phrase). Mind you, there is little your congressman or Senator can do about how religious people are or what religion they choose to worship for example. However, if you think your vote for Joe Rightwinger for Congress will stick it to all the godless people out there, hey who cares if the streets are filthy and the infrastructure is crumbling, there's a lot bigger cause to fight for. What rarely gets answered is 1) what exactly does Rep. Joe Rightwinger plan on doing to enhance God's role in public life, and 2) is Joe walking the walk or does he have three mistresses and spends his free time in airport bathrooms trying to pick up other men?

So what I take that statement to mean is a lot of Americans particularly in poorer areas have stopped holding their elected officials accountable to do the jobs they're supposed to (improve the public good) and instead are giving easy votes to hucksters who run on positions that they can't possibly be evaluated on (how does one measure progress in the fight against The Liberal Media for example). That needs to end. Fortunately, there's a way to do so!

This current crop of GOP officeholders has to absolutely be crushed in the next election. This will not mean the end of the Republican party as it will almost certainly reconstitute itself. However, the brainless, hyperpartisan, juvenile leadership as practiced by Boehner and McConnell needs to be destroyed so something good can come out of it. As long as there's a whiff of electoral success these jokers will hold the party, and the country, hostage for another generation. At some point voters need to decide how much fluff vs substance they'd like in their Congress. While the Dems aren't a perfect party, I'll say again during the budget debate last year they sure seemed more willing to meet half way. I'd also say that on the issue of foreign policy they are the only ones who are even sane, as the official GOP position was to still be in Iraq and have an open ended Afghanistan committment all while defeating a continuation of the arms limitation treaty with the largest nuclear power out there. 30 years ago these idiots would have been laughed out of the Republican party. Now they're running it, and will be running the country if elected this year.

 

[Priceless]

Re: 2012 Elections - Fear is the mind killer. Fear is the little death....

They don't value personal freedom. If they did they wouldn't be so concerned about the third "G".

see the preceding conversation, "the problems with Republican politicians."

Some Republican politicians know quite a bit more about that third "G" than they care to admit in public.

 

[Kepler]

Re: 2012 Elections - Fear is the mind killer. Fear is the little death....

This is going to be long-winded, but hey you asked!

While I can't speak for O, what I can give is my take on it. I think since the late 70's Republican campaign operatives realized its a lot easier and sometimes more guaranteed to get people to vote based on issues that politicians can't control. How does this work? Say you come from a run down region (as I did). Normally as a voter you would hold your politicians accountable for putting policies in place that improve things. These can be either liberal policies (increased education spending, job training, etc), or conservative ones (business tax cuts, etc), but one would think you wouldn't stand for the same old decay decade after decade. BUT, lets say your paradigm (word of the day!) changed suddenly do to some slick campaigning. Now, instead of expecting your leaders on a federal level to do things to improve your state or region such as crime, jobs, and poverty, you thought of yourself as part of a much bigger cause. Keeping God in public life! Upholding your Second Amendment Rights! Banning All Abortion! Fighting the Commies! God, Guns & Gays (a Pat Buchanan phrase). Mind you, there is little your congressman or Senator can do about how religious people are or what religion they choose to worship for example. However, if you think your vote for Joe Rightwinger for Congress will stick it to all the godless people out there, hey who cares if the streets are filthy and the infrastructure is crumbling, there's a lot bigger cause to fight for. What rarely gets answered is 1) what exactly does Rep. Joe Rightwinger plan on doing to enhance God's role in public life, and 2) is Joe walking the walk or does he have three mistresses and spends his free time in airport bathrooms trying to pick up other men?

So what I take that statement to mean is a lot of Americans particularly in poorer areas have stopped holding their elected officials accountable to do the jobs they're supposed to (improve the public good) and instead are giving easy votes to hucksters who run on positions that they can't possibly be evaluated on (how does one measure progress in the fight against The Liberal Media for example). That needs to end. Fortunately, there's a way to do so!

This current crop of GOP officeholders has to absolutely be crushed in the next election. This will not mean the end of the Republican party as it will almost certainly reconstitute itself. However, the brainless, hyperpartisan, juvenile leadership as practiced by Boehner and McConnell needs to be destroyed so something good can come out of it. As long as there's a whiff of electoral success these jokers will hold the party, and the country, hostage for another generation. At some point voters need to decide how much fluff vs substance they'd like in their Congress. While the Dems aren't a perfect party, I'll say again during the budget debate last year they sure seemed more willing to meet half way. I'd also say that on the issue of foreign policy they are the only ones who are even sane, as the official GOP position was to still be in Iraq and have an open ended Afghanistan committment all while defeating a continuation of the arms limitation treaty with the largest nuclear power out there. 30 years ago these idiots would have been laughed out of the Republican party. Now they're running it, and will be running the country if elected this year.

Excellent post.

The genius of the GOP declaring war on "government" was it decoupled their performance in office from their likelihood of reelection. Republicans no longer run on results, because by their definition government can never, ever be seen to accomplish anything. Therefore all that's left for them to do is gleefully pour acid on it. The result is those things government can do something about -- public works, quality of education and environment, transportation infrastructure, regulation of business -- have all collapsed... which then "proves" their thesis that government "doesn't work."

It's one of the greatest job security plans of all time: all a Republican politician has to do to succeed is fail.

 

[geezer]

Re: 2012 Elections - Fear is the mind killer. Fear is the little death....

This is going to be long-winded, but hey you asked!

Of course you're right, but your long-winded "answer" doesn't come close to my question about Obama's attitude "problem". It seems to be an essay unto itself, so don't blame my question.

2) is Joe walking the walk or does he have three mistresses and spends his free time in airport bathrooms trying to pick up other men?

Anyone with that kind of energy probably deserves my vote.